When the sun's heat beats down the hardest and you are parched and in need of some much needed refreshment, a cool glass of soft, fruity, slightly sweet German Riesling is just the right drink at the right moment. Ernie Loosen, German wine’s greatest promoter, seems to be everywhere, forming a joint venture with Washington’s Chateau Ste Michelle, tending his own winemaking empire in the middle Mosel and speaking all over the world promoting the virtues of Riesling. Ernie’s basic Riesling is called Dr. L and it accomplishes just what it sets out to do. It is an enjoyable, fruit-filled, semi-sweet Riesling filled with scents and flavors of lime and other citrus fruits. It is not a wine for ageing; it is a wine to drink now. What it accomplishes so well is providing us with a quaffable, low-alcohol, fruity wine that is just perfect as an all-purpose Riesling. Let’s make some enormous salads! Let’s bring home some sushi! Barbecue some chicken! And pour me another glass. This entry-level Loosen Riesling made from non-estate fruit, but nonetheless from top Mosel vineyard sites, embodies all of the elegant and racy characteristics of the steep, slate-soil Mosel vineyards. The wine is incredibly weighty and delicious for a Qualitatswein, owing to the fact that it is technically a Spatlese!
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